GLI New York was first established in 2005, originally within the ILR School of Cornell University, to work with trade unions in the US and internationally in developing solutions to some of the major social, economic and environmental challenges.
The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Labor Studies and Urban Studies that are designed to meet the needs of working adults as well as traditional-age college students who seek to learn more about the challenges confronting poor and working class populations in the workplace and in the community. It also collaborates with other units of CUNY to offer a range of college-credit programs designed to give workers the academic and technical skills they need for professional advancement. Its faculty includes distinguished scholars in the social sciences as well as expert practitioners in government, labor, and public service. In addition to its academic programs, SLU sponsors research; organizes forums and conferences; and publishes a national journal, New Labor Forum: A journal of ideas, analysis, and debate.
GLI New York is now Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), a global, multi-sector trade union initiative to advance democratic direction and control of energy in a way that promotes solutions to the climate crisis, energy poverty, the degradation of both land and people, and responds to the attacks on workers’ rights and protections.